Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

Bar, surface, body, and space are the fundamental elements of the design process. Every form, however complex, may be understood as a variation of them. And underlying every concrete design is a design methodology that can be analyzed, taught, and learned as a transformation of these four categories.

In this sense, Transformation represents a foundational work for architects, designers, and lay people with an interest in cultural history: the unrivaled grammar of design. With a systematic aim and progressively increasing complexity, it unfolds the creative potential of these categories with succinct texts, uniform drawings, and a broad array of examples from architecture, design, and art.

But Transformation also occupies an exceptional position as a physical book: the layout makes it especially easy to compare and combine different design steps, and the separate binding of individual groups of pages makes doing so even easier. The result is a kind of construction set that invites the reader to play as well as research. By generating new links, he or she is able to use a limited set of fundamental elements to discover an unlimited and ever-changing array of new design possibilities.

Synopsis

Cylinder, surfaces, bodies and spaces are the four basic elements which constitute the design process: each design, however complex, can be created by transforming these elements. By taking these four categories as a starting point, we can detect a methodology underlying each design and which can be analysed, taught and learnt.
In Basic Design Roland Knauer, Professor for Design in SchwC$bisch GmCThrough the ingenious layout and format, this book is a remarkable object in itself. The highly original layout facilitates the comparison and combination of different steps in the design process. With the pages divided into four separate segments, the reader is able to compare and contrast various elements in a playful yet wholly practical way, generating new links between the four central elements and unlocking the unlimited potential of design.